Finally had a chance to meet up with this new bar.OR's new frictionless trim line safety leash hitch'n point...slides sooo nice, leash on one end and the trim cleat on the other...so simple!I was stoked on that big stiff molded mega collar too...so simple to release and re-load with either hand and the way it locks into the bar...sweeet.

850lb lines standard, along with a handle pass leash. This work horse of a bar is worth checking out.

By the way, OR added another nice feature to this years bar.You can offset this red center guide on the new trim line stopper, and adjust the pressure setting.The greater the offset, the less pressure it takes to push the stopper.The BKB sells a lot of these bars to riders with other brands of SLE's too, its easy to bring out the best in your kite with the right control bar..

I've been using the 2009 SLE bar since mid-December. The 2008 bar was simple and bullet proof. The 2009 model is a little more refined. I like the 2009 safety release much better than last year's. It releases and reloads easily. The front line swivel does a better job at keeping the lines from getting twisted. There is also a new leash attachment that connects opposite the trim cleat. The slider/stopper is the same as last year's, it just has an additional piece to adjust the tension needed to push it up. The leash is longer too, maybe a little too long for me, but I'm fairly short. I'm still not totally sold on below the bar depower, but most manufacturers are going that way.

Overall, I prefer this bar to the Cabrinha and Slingshot bars I've used in the past. It would be nice to have above the option of adding above the bar depower and a below the bar swivel.

I am not a fan of releases that open the chicken loop. This is something that I would like to see go away. The designs that use closed loops have been around forever, even thought they do require above the bar trim (which is another benefit).

Oposed to schmoe in this case I like the chickenloop that ''opens up". No risk to loose the loop in the process.

Schmoe, please share why you like the disconnecting loop. Always interesting to get a different point of view.

Looking good OR! I might make a mix of the sle and 5th line bar to fit my preferences. I'm no fan of below the bar style trim and require "O-shit" handles on my bar.Reckon I should go for the 5th line version and just modify it for "normal" frontlines. Looks easy on this design.

I just had a few session on the new chickenloop setup, I bought my 2009 really early and originally shipped with the 2008 style. I have to say that I'm really impressed with the new one, here is what I like:

1. The safety attaches to a ring underneath now instead of to the end of the sheeting strap. The ring underneath is actually attached to the OTHER end of the double center line, so if you attach it there and bail out it has the effect of really depowering the kite by in effect sheeting in as far as possible. The nice thing now is that if you are riding with 10 inches of depower your safety leash doesn't drag in the water (because it was hanging off 10 extra inches of sheeting strap). You can really tune your leash to be exactly the size you want it to be and that never changes while your are riding.

2. They put two balls on the end of the sheet strap, which reduces the pinched finger syndrome and also makes it easier to grab if you are completely powered up and just resting against the stopper ball.

3. While I like the kind of 'old school' wrapped cloth, velcro model from last year I have to say that this new molded plastic one is much easier to release, it slides up super smooth and there is pretty much zero chance of it releasing by mistake

4. The great thing about the molded plastic is that it marries into the metal hole in the bar that the lines run through so that when you unhook it has the effect of placing the chickenloop in the same place every time. In other words because when you are unhooked the chickenloop is pulled up tight against the bar the new way it is married together ensures that the loops is perfectly parallel with the bar and thus super easy to hook back in. You don't have to reach down with one hand and turn the loop while avoiding downwind obstacles or waves, steering the kite with the other hand, etc.. You just pull in with the bar and your two hands and slide it right onto the hook. That little feature in and of itself is worth the upgrade but the added safety and convenience factors are nice as well.

As an aside, a trick that a friend showed me to further the length of your center line's life is to wax it up liberally with surf wax. It really cuts down on the fraying.

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